-- Even with Bam Adebayo called for his second foul with 6:49 left in the opening period, Erik Spoelstra opted for Derrick Jones Jr. defensively against Blake Griffin, instead of James Johnson.

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-- Spoelstra, in fact, kept Jones on the floor after he was called for his second foul.

-- He knows what's working at the moment.

-- And staying with it.

-- Spoelstra, pregame, on Johnson having been asked to step aside in the rotation, "He's been terrific. Look, we've said this many times before, we are in an absolute fight for our lives for the playoffs. I don't expect that to be easy. But it's all about the team right now. He's staying ready and fully able when his number is called to contribute. Because his mind is in it, he knows what this is all about."

-- Spoelstra added, "This is just about the team and everybody's had their times of this. So he is not forgotten. He'll still have an opportunity to contribute to this playoff push."

-- The Pistons had their own foul-trouble setback when Andre Drummond was called for his fourth foul with 10:49 left in third period.

-- The Heat's 8-0 start was their best start of the season before the opposition scored.

-- The Heat then moved to a 12-point lead at the end of the quarter by largely settling into zone defense.

-- The start of the second half, of course, was even better.

-- Pistons coach Dwane Casey said that it's as if Dwyane Wade has tricked his 37-year-old body to feel younger.

-- "That just shows you that Dwyane could, in this role, play another three or four years," Spoelstra said. "He's just choosing to go out on his terms. But he does a fantastic job taking care of his body."

-- Spoelstra added, "I think that probably the biggest lesson that he's taught our young guys, which is such a fabulous lesson, is: This is your profession. This is your livelihood. You have to invest time into it. And that's not just the time with the team that's mandated."

-- Spoelstra then expanded on that thought.

-- "I used to call Dwyane three-to-one," Spoelstra said. "He would put in three hours to every hour that he would play on the basketball court. So if it's a two-hour game, there were times when he was dealing with injuries and trying to get his body right, that he would spend five to six hours in this facility just getting right."

-- Spoelstra added, "The fountain of youth a lot of times is work, sweat, and doing things that most people aren't willing to do. But, yeah, he's been drinking from the fountain of youth. He plays back to backs and all this stuff. It's not an accident. He spent a lot of time taking care of his body."

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-- Spoelstra on Bam Adebayo stepping forward with his offense, "We're not running plays for him. But it's a function of our offense running efficiently. He'll be a recipient oftentimes of ball movement, of pick-and-roll basketball, things at the rim. But while that's all happening, you can see that his offensive skill set is growing each month. Because he puts in a lot of time."

-- And, "He's becoming a better free-throw shooter, a better shooter, a better finisher, a better decision-maker. He has the most assists of all of our bigs and most games of all our frontcourt players with over five assists. That was not a skill set he had coming into this league."

-- Spoelstra also spoke of Wade as allowing teammates to blossom.

-- "I think the bigger impact and storyline is he's willing to allow other guys to grow," Spoelstra said. "If he wasn't willing to come off the bench and for other guys to have opportunities to have those impactful moments, our young players would not be who they are right now, five months into the season."

-- Spoelstra added, "But he looks at things big picture. He looks at things a little bit differently of most player of his ilk. And that's why he's different. He's a Hall of Fame player, but he's emotionally stable to understand how teams function and how they can function at the highest level. It takes sacrifice."

-- Spoelstra, on Duncan Robinson being back with the Heat from the G League, possibly for the balance of the season, "As much as he can be with us. But we're also in a playoff push there. We'll try to manage everything the best that we can."